1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a new method and system for a session service in a wireless session protocol (WSP) between a user and a server terminal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is a result of continuous work to define an industry wide standard for developing applications over wireless communication networks. WAP is disclosed in the Wireless Application Protocol Architecture Specification; Version 30 Apr. 1998; by Wireless Application Protocol Architecture Working Group;
The scope for the WAP working groups is to define a set of standards to be used by service applications. The wireless market is growing very quickly, and reaching new customers and services. To enable operators and manufacturers to meet the challenges in advanced services, differentiation and fast/flexible service creation WAP defines a set of protocols in transport, session and application layers.
The Session layer protocol family in the WAP architecture is called the Wireless Session Protocol, WSP. WSP provides the upper-level application layer of WAP with an interface for session services and management. One example of a session service is a connection-mode service that operates above a transaction layer protocol called Wireless Transport Layer (WTP), See also Wireless Application Protocol: Wireless Transport Protocol specification, version 30 Apr. 1998, by Wireless Application Protocol Transport Working Group.
Another session service may be a connectionless service that operates above a secure or non-secure datagram service.
The Wireless Session Protocol comprises one protocol most suited for browsing applications (WSP/B). WSP/B provides HTTP 1.1 functionality and incorporates new features such as long-lived sessions, a common facility for data push, capability negotiation, and session suspend/resume. HTTP 1.1 is disclosed in Fielding, R., et. al., “Hypertext Transfer Protocol—HTTP/1.1”, RFC 2068, UC Irvine, January 1997. The protocols in the WSP family are optimized for low bandwidth bearer networks with relatively long latency.
The WAP Architecture is very similar to the Internet Architecture. FIG. 1 shows a comparison between the Internet Architecture 10 and the WAP Architecture 20. The Internet Architecture 10 comprises a Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) 12, e.g. Java Script, a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) 14, Transport Layered Security (TLS)/Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) 16, and a Transport Configuration Protocol (TCP)/User Datagram Protocol (UDP) 18. The Internet Architecture 10 is a well known prior art, and is disclosed e.g. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,657,390. The WAP Architecture 20 comprises a Wireless Application Protocol (WAE) 22 corresponding to HTML 12, a Wireless Session Layer (WSP) 24 corresponding to HTTP 14, a Wireless Transport Layered Security (WTLS) 26 corresponding to TLS/SSL 16, and a Wireless Transport Layer (WTP) 28 corresponding to TCP/UDP 18. Further, the WAP Architecture comprises different bearers 29 like e.g. SMS, USSD and CODMA 30. There is also a possibility to implement different kinds of services and applications in the WAP Architecture, for example, Value Added Services (VAS). The WAP Architecture 20 is a well known prior art and more information about the different blocks WAE, WSP, WTLS, WTP and bearers is found in on the Internet.
The present invention relates to WSP, which provides a means for organized exchange of content between co-operating client/server applications. Specifically, it provides the applications with a means to:
a) establish an optionally secure, reliable session from client to server, and release the session in an orderly manner;
b) exchange content between client and server; and
c) suspend and resume the session.
In addition, WSP also supports a non-confirmed session service. The connectionless session service can be used over unreliable transport when applications do not care about confirmation. The non-confirmed service is accessed outside the context of an established session.
In, for example, the GSM system it is relatively expensive to transfer data. At the same time it is desired to reduce the size of the required memory space in the phone.
EP-A2-0,851,696 discloses a way of providing data from an information database in response to a request from a mobile station in a wireless network, by using short messaging service, SMS. The subscriber uses a mobile station to place a call via the wireless network and a PSTN to an information service provider. An identification (ID) of the mobile station is forwarded to the information service provider. That provider can then use the ID to retrieve a user personal identification number (PIN) or user identification number. The database information service provider constructs a message containing the desired data and the appropriate PIN or user ID number and forwards that to a message center. The message center then forwards the data from the provider to the mobile station as an SMS.
However, EP-1-0,851,696 uses the ID every time it retrieves a user PIN or user ID number. Thus, this procedure has to be repeated every time when the user sends a request to the server. This means that it will not be easier or faster when the user would like to establish another session. This is a major drawback since the cost for a call will then increase. Also, this document does not describe how it is possible to support different types of data formats/types, upon sending/receiving a request. One example of a data format/type supported by WAP is the MIME multipart format, which transports composite data objects (for example, multipart/mixed). See WAP WSP draft version 2 Apr. 1998, 7.4 Multipart data. WSP defines a compact binary form of the MIME multipart entity and the content type. Thus, there is a need to support different data formats of a WSP session, and to increase the speed to establish a session.